Shepard Davidson

William Brownsberger

In the January 24-31, 2013 “Business View” section of the Boston Business Journal, State Senator William Brownsberger and State Representative Lori Erlich claimed that one reason Massachusetts is losing jobs to Silicon Valley is that California law prohibits non-compete agreements, whereas in Massachusetts they are routinely enforced. The authors then use this conclusion to argue that the Commonwealth should legislate the elimination, or at least curtail the enforceability, of non-compete agreements.

While I have no reason to doubt that Senator Brownsberger and Representative Erlich genuinely believe that eliminating or curtailing the enforceability of non-competes would be beneficial to the Commonwealth, their argument is deeply flawed. As an initial matter, the legislators’ starting point is the “dozens of stories [they have been told] of young workers whose careers were delayed or substantially derailed by overreaching noncompetition agreements.” Even assuming all of these stories are true, if the issue is the impact non-competes are having on the Massachusetts economy, the real starting point should be the number of people who actually left the Commonwealth simply to avoid signing a non-compete agreement. Further, while Senator Brownsberger and Representative Erlich provide no empirical or even anecdotal data with which to make such … Keep reading

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Shepard Davidson

Shepard Davidson

Editor

sdavidson@burnslev.com Shep is a partner in and former Co-Chair of the Business Litigation practice at Burns & Levinson, as well as a current member of the firm's Executive Committee. Shep concentrates his practice in the areas of complex business torts, contract claims, real estate disputes, and employment disputes.

Kelly Kirby

Kelly Kirby

Contributor

kkirby@burnslev.com Kelly Kirby is an associate in Burns & Levinson’s Litigation Group. She maintains broad experience practicing before state and federal courts in various jurisdictions, including trial, pre-trial settlement negotiation, mediation, and arbitration. She is adept at preparing litigation plans that provide clients with optimal go-forward strategies and an understanding of the risks and rewards involved with their case. Kelly most enjoys communicating these strategies to her clients, believing that a clear plan diminishes some of the unpredictability associated with litigation.